New Alliances 2
by sunneedee
Summary: Sequel to New Alliances.
1. Chapter 1

*Chapter 1 - At Grimmauld Place*

Ron Weasley had been dreading his summer. Harry organising for the son of a Death Eater to stay with his family over the summer holidays had seemed like nothing less than betrayal. He couldn't believe Harry was _still _supporting Malfoy, even though he had been lying to them for almost the whole year.

Ron had been right all along, yet Harry and Hermione were yet to acknowledge this fact, and everyone else he pointed this out to didn't seem interested. He decided to keep both eyes on Malfoy from the moment he arrived; he wouldn't have his family hurt by that mangy ferret. As it was, Ginny had already suffered for her ridiculous infatuation.

Since Malfoy had first arrived at Grimmauld Place however, he had been incredibly subdued. He had brought nothing bar his school trunk (a gleaming, black leather contraption with gleaming silver locks in the shapes of the letters D and M), although he was wearing rather expensive robes with buttons that glittered suspiciously like diamonds. _Trying to show off, as usual _Ron had thought.

He had been tailing Draco Malfoy while he was being given the tour of the house, and he'd noted that the boy didn't meet anyone's eye. He didn't acknowledge anyone by name and avoided speaking to Mrs Weasley as she took him from room to room (lacking her usual warmth and motherliness, Ron observed smugly), eventually showing him his sleeping quarters up on the fourth floor (_and as far away from me as possible without putting him in the attic_, Ron thought). The only time Malfoy's face betrayed and expression other than blank disinterest was in the drawing room, where his eyes lit on the old piano, and he stared at it oddly for a moment before turning to follow Mrs Weasley into the next room.

Ron was triumphant. Far from being intrigued and forgiving towards Draco Malfoy (as everyone had been the previous year), the Slytherin was largely ignored by both the Weasley family and the Order members, and he didn't seem disagreeable to this reaction, in fact he rarely came out of his room. He had the distinct impression that Malfoy was avoiding him in particular, and this was confirmed one lunch time when Ron had come thundering down the stairs, heading to the kitchen, only to hear footsteps on the stairs above him suddenly halt. He had looked up and saw Malfoy's green velvet cloak floating out of sight, and could hear hurried, quiet footsteps taking him back up to the fourth floor. Malfoy had waited a full five minutes before finally appearing downstairs for lunch.

Mr Weasley treated Draco politely, although he didn't ask him any questions about himself like he did when Harry was visiting. Ginny, to Ron's relief, avoided Malfoy like the plague, although she soon began to avoid Ron too.

Ginny had also kept to herself as much as possible that summer. She couldn't stand being around Ron, because he constantly gloated about being right about Draco being 'evil'. She kept away from Malfoy, because she hated him for lying to them all, and was mortified by the idea that he might tell her family the details of why they had spilt up. All that said however, she was almost completely, although reluctantly, convinced that Malfoy was now telling the truth. She believed he had cut himself off completely from his family and Voldemort, both physically and emotionally; it was obvious by the haunted look to his face that he was cut adrift from the world he knew, and from the determined set to his face, she could see that he was trying to make his new path in life work. The way he had avoided Ron and his abrasive personality spoke volumes for his efforts so far.

Since the very start of summer, all Ron could talk about was how he had been right all along, and how no one ever listened to him, and that maybe they would now that he had been proved right. After that, Ron began bringing up Malfoy's movements, and how suspicious they were ("Saw him sneaking around by the drawing room upstairs - think he's looking for some of Sirius's parent's dark artefacts?"). When Ginny pointed out several innocent reasons for Malfoy to be walking around the house he lived in, including using the bathroom, Ron had immediately shrugged this off and begun warning her against Malfoy.

"Careful, Gin" he told her in a voice which somehow managed to sound caring and pompous at the same time "Malfoy can't be trusted - I can feel it, and we all know how things turned out last time no one listened to me."

And so Ginny, caring even less for Ron's 'feelings' and brotherly concern than for Malfoy himself, began to avoid her brother.

Mrs Weasley, at first inclined to distrust Draco, soon decided that he wasn't a threat unless he felt threatened. She treated Draco like a caged animal unused to confinement; he would slink away into a dark corner if he could, but if anyone got too close he would probably lash out in what he would most likely see as self defence - but to anyone else would probably appear to be an unacceptably strong reaction. She just hoped this reaction wouldn't include violence, and was thankful that Draco was still underage and so couldn't use magic outside school.

Nymphadora Tonks was introduced to Draco not long after he arrived. Mrs Weasley had shepherded Draco into the drawing room with her the moment she arrived, still in her purple auror robes and breathless from the floo.

Draco had been examining the piano whilst waiting for Mrs Weasley to return when the door slammed shut and Tonks strode over to him, her cheeks flushed to match her pink hair.

Draco's eyes slid from the closed door on the opposite side of the room to the window beside him, but Tonks ignored his cagey behaviour and scooped him into a rough hug before he could shrink away.

'Wotcher cousin!" she said warmly, stepping back, her eyes shining as she took in his appearance.

"Cousin?" he asked cautiously, his eyes widening as her hair dimmed to a dusky orange.

"I'm your cousin Nymphadora - but call me that and I'll hex you! I prefer to go by Tonks." she grinned "My mum's your aunt Andromeda."

"Pleased to meet you Tonks." he said stiffly, wishing her hand would remove itself from his shoulder.

"Look at you!" she enthused "The spitting image of Aunt Cissy! That's a Malfoy jaw line though, you Malfoys were always such pointy buggers."

Draco didn't really know what to say to that. Cousin Tonks looked nothing like his mother, but she did have a somewhat softened version of Bellatrix's features, particularly her heart shaped face. Somehow he didn't think anyone with the muggle name 'Tonks' would appreciate the comparison. He tried to smile politely but it felt more like a grimace.

"So what do you like then? What do young Malfoys do in their spare time these days? I remember mum saying that old Lucius was a keen chess player before he got caught up in sneakier activities, but I didn't really know him at all."

Draco's smile became a little less forced. He thought that anyone who could describe his father's 'activities' as _sneaky _deserved that at least.

"I'm a seeker on the Slytherin quidditch team." he offered, and was rewarded by a bright smile

"Oh good! Me too! - on the team, I mean. Except I was a chaser."

"You were a Slytherin?" Draco felt himself cheer up a little

"No, no - a Hufflepuff - oh now!" she whacked him playfully on the shoulder when she saw his expression "Hufflepuffs have the most fun - we're under the radar when it comes to mischief and pulling pranks- who would suspect a Hufflepuff!"

"No one," Draco agreed with a snigger "but there's a reason for that. Hufflepuffs don't have the imagination for decent pranks!"

Tonks puffed up with indignation "I'll have you know-"

But then the door flew open with a bang and a flushed Ronald Weasley burst into the room, wand aloft and his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Oh -" he stopped short, his face relaxing when he spotted Tonks "Hi - I thought -"

Then he caught sight of Draco, and the two exchanged scowls before Draco remembered to look at the floor.

_Just ignore him._

"Put your wand away Ron before Molly sees you and throws a fit." Tonks said good naturedly, then turned to Draco and patted him on the back. "Listen you, drop me an owl whenever you want and we can discuss the qualities of Hufflepuff house in more detail." she winked "and don't let all these red-heads get you down." and as she turned away her hair, which had changed gradually back to pink during their conversation, suddenly morphed into a long, silken mane of fine blond hair which swished as she walked away.

Draco stared, and as she turned to wave before she walked out the door, he dazedly thought that perhaps that would be what his mother would have looked like, if she'd been less serene and more light-hearted.

He made to follow her, but Ron crashed into his shoulder as he made to move past him.

"Don't go lusting over Tonks now," Ron snarled, digging his fingers into his shoulder "now that she looks like your mother, you inbred ferret."

Draco wrenched his shoulder from his grasp. "Shut up Weasley. Or I'll shut you up."

They glared at each other for a long moment, before Draco swept out.

It was yet another dull morning at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, a light mist of drizzle was falling outside in the street, and Ron, after finishing his breakfast, turned around to see Malfoy speaking to Mrs Weasley in a low voice outside the kitchen door. Mrs Weasley nodded, patting Malfoy on the shoulder (he flinched away) and Malfoy disappeared in the direction of the stairs.

Scrambling to his feet, Ron hurried over to Mrs Weasley who was now heading towards the sink where a large pile of dishes were magically levitating one by one into the soapy water.

"Mum! What was Malfoy saying to you?" he demanded

Mrs Weasley sighed "Nothing that concerns you, Ron. I do wish you would stop badgering everyone about him. It's no wonder the poor boy never speaks."

"Poor boy! Mum this is _Draco Malfoy_ we're talking about!"

"Ronald Weasley!" Mrs Weasley snapped, turning around to brandish a soapy spoon at him "That is _enough._ Dumbledore asked us to make him feel welcome, and that's what we'll do!"

"But mum - who knows what he could be planning! He's got us all under one roof with him - and he even has his wand! You do know he's probably been taught the Dark Arts since he was a baby-"

"I said that's enough!" Mrs Weasley looked angry now "It's not your place to question him Ronald. We have a house that's usually full of aurors, there's nothing to worry about, and for all our sanity's sakes, if you would just pipe down, we could all have some peace. The poor dear was only asking about the old piano in the drawing room, nothing more."

_The piano? _Ron was baffled but didn't dare provoke his mother further. Instead he scampered, taking the stairs at a run, ready to confront Malfoy in whatever his plans were.

However when he reached the drawing room, all was quiet. Malfoy had the top of the piano open and, standing on a chair, was rooting around inside the instrument, muttering to himself.

"Oy!" Ron said loudly "What do you think you're doing? That belongs to Harry now, you've no right touching it!"

Malfoy jumped as if shocked and looked up, withdrawing from the piano and Ron soon saw why.

"HEY!" he bellowed, storming towards Malfoy "You're using magic!"

"Bugger off Weasley!" Malfoy said, his face white with suppressed anger, but then the door swung open

"What's going on in here!" Ginny said looking from Ron to Malfoy

"He-" Ron gestured violently towards Malfoy "Is using magic to mess with Harry's property!"

"Your mother said I could fix it, if I wanted!" Malfoy snapped at Ginny

"She would never let _you _use magic, of all people! Never mind that you're still under age!" Ron shouted

"What? But Ron, you know Harry doesn't care about the house, let alone the furniture, and if mum said-"

At this point, Mrs Weasley entered the room at a run

"What's all this shouting - Ron! What are you doing in here! I told you to leave him alone!"

"Mum!" Ginny intervened "Draco was fixing the piano, but he was-"

"Using magic!" Ron finished, folding his arms in triumph

Mrs Weasley, still angry, turned to Draco

"Is this true?"

"Yes." Malfoy looked defiant "You said I could fix the piano. And so I was."

Ron could barely restrain a girlish giggle of glee - Malfoy had no idea what he was letting himself in for.

"I did _not _say you could use underage magic, which is illegal, may I point out."

"My pare-" Malfoy started, then hurriedly clamped his mouth shut, and stared fixedly at the floor.

_Ha! _Ron thought, but for some reason he could see him mother visibly deflating, as if this reaction somehow affected her capacity for giving a good telling off.

"Out - Ron, Ginny!" Mrs Weasley motioned towards the door.

Ron didn't bother protesting, but as soon as the door clicked shut they both huddled around the keyhole as Ginny pulled an extendible ear out of her pocket.

"-n't know how you parents ran things in their home Draco," Mrs Weasley was saying "but here we don't allow our children - or any underage guests - to use magic outside of school."

"I apologise." Malfoy said stiffly "I only wanted to fix the piano."

Mrs Weasley sighed "Be that as it may…" there was a silence, then she said "Perhaps you could give one of us adults instructions, and we could fix it for you?"

"It requires a musical ear." Malfoy sounded frustrated "and now I've had a look, I know exactly what needs to be done. I only needed a few minutes more with it."

"Tell you what," Mrs Weasley said, after a long pause "I feel that you need a hobby - it's not healthy, a young boy like you cooped up in a dreary house like this with nothing to do. It's partly Ron's fault that you're having such trouble adjusting, and I feel responsible….Perhaps I could overlook - just this once mind you - a little bit of magic, as long as I'm right here, keeping an eye on you."

Ron and Ginny exchanged wide-eyed looks, both shocked, but Ron's eyes were furious.

"I don't believe it! He's got her wrapped around his-" but Ginny motioned for quiet and squinted through the keyhole again.

"-ever, if I catch you using magic again," Mrs Weasley sounded stern "You will be helping to scrub down the attic rooms - they haven't been touched for years, and I'm afraid I've been putting them off!"

"Of course, of course." Ron could hear thumps as Malfoy climbed back on top of the chair and opened the piano lid again "Thank you very much, Mrs Weasley."

Ron didn't bother noting that this was the first time Malfoy had called anyone by their name (other than insulting Ron minutes before), but instead flung the extendible ear to the ground and stormed off.

Although he spent most of his time in his room on the top floor, Malfoy did make regular appearances at mealtimes, although initially only picked at his food. Ron had trouble keeping his temper under control; did Malfoy think his mum's meals weren't good enough for him? However this changed very soon when Malfoy discovered the fuss Mrs Weasley caused when he didn't finish his food ("You're so skinny, dear, here - have some more potato."). The boy clearly didn't want any attention on him, avoiding everyone's eye at the dinner table and staying out of conversations, so when Mrs Weasely fussed around him asking if he felt ill, or if he needed a pepper-up potion every time he left something on his plate, he would hurriedly gulp down whatever was left, and then leave promptly afterwards. Ron would smirk in a self-satisfied manner, and particularly enjoyed when other Order members visited the headquarters, especially the aurors. At times like this, Malfoy would remain near Mrs Weasley, as if for protection, and would sit, stiff and pale, visibly forcing himself to eat so that Mrs Weasley wouldn't bring more attention onto him. The order members, for their part would usually stare at him as he ate with both curiosity, and varying amounts of hostility. Tonks was the only one who didn't seem hostile at all, yet when she tried to engage him in conversation at the dinner table, she was usually met with a shrug and silence, though Ron suspected they talked more often in private.

Moody had the greatest effect on Malfoy, and Ron couldn't blame him, having witnessed their first meeting. After the first meal where Mad-Eye stopped by, Malfoy refused to eat at the table when he was around, and from then on edged silently into any room he entered when the Weasleys had company, in case Mad-Eye was there.

When Malfoy had joined the table that day, he had, as usual with other Order members, avoided Moody's eyes and ignored his greeting, except with a vague nod in his direction. He had lifted his spoon and unenthusiastically prodded at his soup.

"I'M TALKING TO YOU, BOY!" Moody had bellowed, causing Malfoy to jump a few feet in the air, flicking soup everywhere, and he shrank back into his chair in shock, his eyes now wide with fear fixed and on Moody.

Ron had chuckled, enjoying the show. This was the most interesting thing Malfoy had done so far.

"Alastor!" Mrs Weasley had exclaimed in shock, but Moody had ignored her

"That's right! At least have the decency to look me in the eye, scum!" Malfoy didn't move, frozen in shock still. "And just remember it was me who threw your disgusting father into Azkaban - too good for him, in my opinion!"

"Alastor - how dare - apologise at -" Mrs Weasley was clearly furious, so angry in fact she was spluttering with rage, but the gnarled old auror simply spoke over her

"Just you remember that before you try anything with the Weasleys here - over and above the call of duty as far as I'm concerned, taking you in! I'll have you reunited with dear old Lucius if you step out of line - and your mother will be following him in any case, if I have anything to do with it! Scum, all of you, Malfoys are!"

There was a ringing silence, and then Malfoy's spoon fell back into his bowl with a loud clatter, splashing more soup on the tablecloth, and the floor screeched as he pushed his chair out. There was complete quiet as he shakily stood and then he fled from the room, his face characteristically blank, Moody's triumphant.

Ron actually had felt a little sorry for Malfoy at that point, but not as sorry as he did for Moody, who got such a thorough rollicking from Mrs Weasley that he grudgingly agreed to apologise (after three hours of straight argument which no one else dared intervene into). However Malfoy wasn't to be seen. He refused to unlock his door, or answer Mrs Weasley's pleas and tearful apologies. He didn't eat for two days, leaving his trays of food outside his door to grow cold. When he finally began to eat again, he still refused to come downstairs for a further week.

Draco, shaking could feel every eye on him as he fled the room that day, his feet tripped over one another as he scrambled up the stairs, his mask cracking. Forcing it back into place, he began to sprint, using the hand rail to propel himself up the flights of stairs faster. His legs were shaking badly. When he finally reached the dingy bedroom door where he slept, his hands were shaking too much to twist the door knob. He squeezed his eyes shut hard, clutched his hair with his hands momentarily, then, uncaring for Mrs Weasley and her ridiculous rules, he took out his wand and flicked it at the door, which banged open so hard the door knob on the other side knocked a small chunk out of the wall. A strangled sob escaping him finally, he slammed the door shut as hard as he could, and the bang echoed in his ears for a few seconds. He threw himself onto the bed and he drew a rasping breath before his shoulders began to convulse with silent, racking sobs.

What had he _done?_ Coming here? What had he though he would achieve? From one nest of snakes to another. He was going to be belittled, trapped, and controlled no matter where he went. He may as well have stayed with his family. At least they held some affection for him. Ron hated him - he didn't care about that, he was an arrogant berk. Ginny couldn't look at him after the stormy end to their relationship. And he had betrayed them all, he was a traitor. None of the adults wanted him there, he could feel it. He found Mrs Weasley's attention oppressive. He hadn't heard from Harry in months. They had made a truce, but he knew Harry would never forgive him. He had messed up that as well. And Hermione…well she was out of bounds in any case, never mind the fact that she hated him more than all of the rest in any case. He had no one.

He clawed at his pillow as he sobbed silently. How many times had he done this in his life? Many times, at least since he learnt what his parent's intended destiny for him was. His father couldn't stand weakness, which was why he remained silent as he cried. His mother ignored it, she had even put silencing charms on her son as a baby. No one cared. He missed Pansy, but he had practically given her away to Potter.

He felt a rush of anger. He wasn't even allowed to write to his friends, not even Blaise who had nothing to do with Voldemort. Pansy of course was out of the question, but he had no doubt Harry regularly exchanged letters with her. He accidentally let another sob out, and rolled over onto his back, clamping his hands over his mouth. Why had he given Pansy away? She was _his. _Had been. He had thought she would remain his friend, his sister, even though he had finally managed to break from their betrothal. He didn't want or need the romance, but he'd though she'd still be there for him if he needed her.

Was that his fault too? Caught up in his rebellious and interesting new friendships, had he abandoned Pansy? Was this his payback?

He didn't think he could stand another moment of life among Dumbledore's people, but there was no going back, unless he wanted to be killed by either side. If he did leave, his only option was to double cross Harry again, and really spy for the Dark Lord again - but neither side trusted him in any case. And he didn't want to go through that again, forging friendships and then losing them to a cause he didn't care for. He just wished he could be like Blaise, neutral, living in peace. But he had to choose a side, and he had done so. He couldn't go back, even if he wanted to. _No__…_

He still remembered what he had learnt about his father, what he had seen little over a year ago. He had had no idea…

Excited about the prospect of become an important man like his father, he had counted down the days until he would meet with the Dark Lord, _'__He has an important task for you,__'_his father had told him, smiling indulgently as Draco had bombarded him with questions. _'__Will I become a Death Eater? When can I wear the mask?__'_ he had asked, seeing himself killing and torturing muggles to the admiring audience of his parents…even the Dark Lord would be impressed at Draco.

The reality of a Death Eater meeting was nothing like how he had imagined. He had pictured his father, tall and proud at the Dark Lord's right had, casting a disdainful eye (how Draco had hated that in private that look had been directed at himself - but no more!) over the other unworthy Death Eaters. He remembered how impressive his father had looked in his black robes and silver mask, had remembered the muggles spinning in the air in the distance at the world cup. _They aren__'__t people after all_, he had thought at the time, _little more than animals_…

Draco's first Death Eater meeting had been in a silent wood. His father had immediately fallen to the ground upon arrival, pulling Draco down with him. Confused, Draco knelt, watching his father crawl like an animal to the Dark Lord's feet, where he kissed his robes - actually kissed them - then withdrew, urgently motioning with his hand for Draco to do the same. Disgusted, scared and wondering why this was happening - his father had never mentioned this - he imitated him, feeling exposed as he was the only one without a mask. He had scrambled to his feet and stood beside his father, joining the circle of the Dark Lord's followers. At the Dark Lord's right hand stood the cackling, withered figure of his insane Aunt Bellatrix, her wild hair escaping her hood.

There he had seen that he was not the only unmasked one at this meeting, and his eyes flew from mask to mask, wondering who they concealed and whether they were staring at him, what they were thinking. In the middle of the circle, he noticed at last, magically bound and gagged, were frightened looking three females and a bruised, unconscious male. On closer inspection he saw that the youngest female was only about ten or eleven by the look of her, the next his own age or younger and the oldest one the same age as the man. They were a family.

Draco knew why the family of muggles was here. He knew what would happen to them - or he thought he did. He wondered why he wasn't excited. He felt an odd combination of fear and revulsion, but quickly quashed it. He wanted his father and the Dark Lord to be proud. He schooled an eager expression onto his face.

It was at this meeting where Draco grew up. He had looked to his father for support, not knowing that in many month's time his father would be in Azkaban, his fall and Draco's impossible mission engineered by Aunt Bellatrix. The muggles had been rapidly brought to his attention; Macnair had untied the youngest girl. He had not removed his mask, but Draco could imagine the greedy look on his face.

"_We handpicked this one for your tastes Macnair!__"_someone had called.

_Your tastes__…_Draco had not known what this meant, but had disregarded the comment.

It had been December, only a week until Draco's birthday and he was still fourteen. He was still so naïve, not that anyone could have made him believe it. Until then.

The little girl had been Crucio'd within an inch of her life, her father roused out of consciousness by a physical beating and been forced to watch this happen to his daughter. Again and again. Draco had expected this, yet found himself horrified, eventually finding himself swallowing down vomit. He hadn't known a child could make noises like that. The mother and sister had watched, silent screams tearing their throats, silent tears coursing down their cheeks. The little girl was unconscious by the time Macnair dragged her body off behind a bush, and Draco watched the father begin to struggle even more violently as he suddenly realised what Macnair wanted with her.

If any of the Death Eaters had not been so preoccupied with they prey, Draco's face would have given him away, but they were moving onto the mother and sister.

Draco had been sick after all in the end. He had accompanied his father home shaking and crying. His own father had taken his turn with the sister - the one who was barely the same age as himself - if that. _That could have been Pansy._ But Pansy was a pureblood. That thought didn't comfort him. What would his mother think if she found out - did she already know?

His father had thrown him roughly into his room, looking disappointed and angry at his son's reaction to the sport.

And that was the first time Draco had cried like this. Like he was now, locked by himself inside his small room at Grimmauld Place. He had been plagued by nightmares of that night for two years now.

Ron had written a letter to Hermione. He had updated her on how badly Malfoy was doing at Grimmauld Place again, hoping to cheer her up. He knew she must be very angry at Malfoy after their break-up, but being a girl, of course she never spoke about it or mentioned him in her letters. However, he had a reason to butter her up now. _I know the whole Malfoy thing must have been really hard for you. He was your first real boyfriend after all, __and I know you must feel like an idiot _

He crossed out his last words. He knew she must feel this way; he had after his relationship with the silly bimbo Lavender Brown, but he didn't think she would appreciate him mentioning it.

_Do you think you'll go out with anyone else soon?_

Ron took a deep breath before starting on the topic he had wanted to write about all summer.

_I know you must have been cut up about you and Malfoy, and you were angry at me last time I asked this, but now you see I was right about him. _Ron hoped she would include, in her reply, a sentence finally acknowledging that he had been right.

_I've waited a while to ask you again, because I wanted to give you a chance to cool down - and it's easier to say in a letter! _he added in this comment, hoping to make her laugh.

_Will you be my girlfriend?_

He decided to end the letter on a joking note, so that it wouldn't sound so serious - so that in case she refused they wouldn't feel awkward around each other.

_Just think about how furious Malfoy will be when he sees I've got his girl! If you want to be, I mean. I sometimes think he still likes you by the way, so in any case, if you go out with me it'll put him off. And I'll batter him to an inch of his life if he touches you anyway, so don't worry about that!_

_Love from,_

_Ron_

The reply he had received was a surprise.

_Ron,_

_You arrogant, self-obsessed bastard. I wouldn__'__t date you if you were the last pathetic loser on earth._

Ron's heart snapped in two. His hands shook as he read.

_Ha ha, I bet you thought that was what I was going to say._

Ron frowned and read on, confused.

_Well actually, I want to agree with you._

_About what? _Ron's frown deepened

_Yes, you were right. Malfoy was a liar. _

He smiled to himself.

_Well done. Now shut up and stop gloating or you__'__ll be lucky if Harry and I ever speak to you again._

_As for my answer to your question__…__ see above._

_Oh, and by the way how could you think I__'__m stupid enough to date YOU, especially after you admitted in your letter (nice how you were too much of a coward to ask me in person, by the way) that you only wanted to do it to get back at Malfoy and gloat about me being __'__your girl__'__ now. _

_I said no before because you were an arrogant, prejudiced prick - and you still are._

_Just so you know, Draco was better than you would ever be, and as a boyfriend I__'__d rather be with him again than with you._

_Hermione._

Ron stared at the full stop after her signature. He felt tears pricking at his eyes, mind blank. Suddenly he was angry at Hermione, screwing up the parchment and flinging it into the fire. How _dare _she speak about him like that! All he ever wanted was to protect her! And to say she'd rather be with -

Ron leapt to his feet and sprinted out the door. He ran up the stairs to the library which was a new haunt of Malfoy's. He only had one thought on his mind: To make Malfoy pay for this. Malfoy had torn apart their friendship, he was dividing his family, and now Malfoy had taken any chance he had had with Hermione away from him.

He burst through the library door and slammed it shut behind him.

There was a thud of falling books and Malfoy's thin face looked around a tall book case.

"What the fuck are you doing in here, Ferret Boy?" Ron said, aiming for provoking a fight.

Malfoy initially looked furious, but then his eyes travelled over Ron's angry face.

"Just leaving." he said, looking away and bending to place the book in his hands on the floor.

"Oh no you don't!" Ron said, standing in his way as Malfoy sought a hasty exit. "I've had it with you, stinking up the fourth floor with your inbred stench, sneaking around trying to mess up my family! Moody had it right, you belong in Azkaban with your dear old dad!"

"What do you want, Weasley?" Malfoy said flatly, still avoiding meeting Ron's eyes. This only enraged Ron further.

"What do I want?" he said, barely avoiding shouting. He didn't want to alert anyone else to what was going on before he had a chance to seriously hurt Malfoy.

"What I want," he lowered his voice dangerously "Is for you to get _your_ stinking _filthy blood_ out of my family's lives."

Malfoy looked angry yet confused "And here I thought you'd be like your daddy, preaching that we're all the same."

"Shut it you-"

"- And besides, _m__e,_ dirty blood? My pedigree goes back seven gen-"

"I know," said Ron "and you know what that means, don't you?" when Malfoy looked blank he said with relish "_Inbreeding. _Your family have been fucking each other for centuries. I bet you've had it off with your own mother! And to top it off, you're all bloody evil - so don't you dare ever call anyone else a mudblood, or a blood traitor you piece of filth."

Malfoy's face was purest white, teeth clenched. He looked as if he could barely move with anger.

"Get out of my way." he managed in a snarl "I'm leaving."

"How're you going to make me?" Ron said cheerfully "Is Bellatrix Lestrange fucking your father now, do you reckon? Maybe she visits him in Azka-"

Malfoy suddenly moved forward in a flash, grabbing Ron by the throat

"Don't you ever speak another-"

_Wham._

Ron's fist connected with Malfoy's skull and the other boy flew to the floor.

"Not very strong, are you?" Ron gloated "Not without Crabbe and Goyle to back you up. Bet you miss them now!"

Malfoy was scrambling to his feet, backing away. Ron really was much stronger, he had more muscle than in the past - probably as a result of his Keeper training - and had his height as an advantage.

"What the hell is this about Weasley?" Malfoy shouted

Ron followed his urges and said "Hermione. She fucking hates your stinking guts, you know, and she wanted me to do this to you."

He now wished he hadn't said that. The words sounded false and ridiculous even to his own ears, and Malfoy clicked on immediately.

"She turned you down again," he sneered "didn't she?"

"Shut up. I'm going to rip you apart Malfoy!" Ron shouted, then mentally cursed, hoping no one had heard him. What did Malfoy mean by 'again'? Surely Hermione hadn't told him? Surely she wouldn't humiliate him in that way?

"Why? What's it to do with me?" Malfoy smirked knowingly in a way that had Ron's blood boiling

"I'm gonna sink my fist in your teeth so you can't even suck your father's -" he advanced on him

"_I said don__'__t speak to me like _- " Malfoy drew his wand, but Ron punched it out of his hand

"Oh no you don't ferret!"

Back against the wall, Malfoy had nowhere to run. "Did she tell you, Weasel?" he said suddenly, voice quieter again.

"Tell me what?" Ron snarled

Malfoy swallowed, looking as if he was making some kind of silent decision. Ron punched him in the stomach and he buckled

"Tell me what!" he said angrily

Malfoy doubled over, gasping, but when he righted himself his face was a mask of fury

"That you made her run right into my arms, Weasel, when you asked her out, that's what!" he hissed

"You're fucking lying, you stinking - that was ages before you and her even were talking!"

"No Weasel, trust me, I'd remember a night like that! I shagged her brains out to help her forget you'd ever spoken, and you had no idea!" Malfoy laughed maniacally, pressed up against the wall, and Ron's blood reached boiling point again.

"As if Hermione would - you little liar! She's not a fucking slut like your other girlfriends!"

"My other girlfriends?" Malfoy smirked "What, like your sister? No - " he said as Ron raised a fist "I never banged Ginny. But are you saying Harry's girlfriend is a slut now? Pansy? What kind of friend are you, _Ron_? - _Oof_" Ron punched him in the side, leaving him gasping. "Now Pansy used to be a bit of a slut when I was with her, I won't deny that." he wheezed, causing Ron to frown in confusion at this admission "Yeah," Malfoy continued "Pansy slept around. In the end it was Pansy, not me, who got into Ginny's knickers!"

"Anything else to declare?" Ron said, laughing "Because if there's anything else as funny as that…God do you think I don't know my own friends and family? You're full of shit, aren't you?"

"You don't believe me?" Draco said, a look of delight spreading over his face "Why don't you ask darling Ginny then, if you're so close? Ask her what she gets up to with Loony Lovegood in their spare time, hmm? Aargh!"

He had raised his hands to protect himself from another blow from Ron, but Ron's fist was like a rock and Draco actually felt his fingers snap under the impact. He nearly cried out in agony and he stumbled to the side, but kept talking as Ron advanced on him again.

Ron's head was spinning. Ginny wasn't - but then how would he know? She didn't talk to him about her relationships, not when he always told her off for dating people…

"I was telling the truth about Hermione too!" Malfoy continued "I stopped, you know, I told her if she didn't want to she could leave, but she practically _begged_ me to shag her! You should have heard the noises she was making, Weasel, screaming _my _name, I'm surprised we didn't wake the whole school!"

Ron's blood ran cold. Surely….Was it possible….?

"I like the way she wears her socks, Weasel. You know, pulled up to her knees when she wears that little grey skirt? And the tight sweater? And if you take it off, _Ronniekins_, did you know she doesn't wear a bra- "

Suddenly Ron found his fist embedding itself in Malfoy's face again and again. He was seeing red, anger clouding his vision. He felt Malfoy's nose snap on the first hit, and Malfoy was yelling so he punched him in the jaw to shut him up. Malfoy's fingers were pressing on Ron's throat desperately, but he didn't care, but then they loosened and he fell back, momentarily stunned as Malfoy had punched him in the side of the head hard, making his ear ring.

Malfoy's face was red with blood, his hair rat-tailed and red at the tips.

"I don't suppose-" the Slytherin gasped, backing away "that you'll believe me if I said I fucked her in Filch's cleaning cupboard?"

Ron ran at him, but Malfoy, using the wall to propel himself, came flying towards him, and punched him on the chin, fending off Ron's blows. Ron grabbed a handful of Malfoy's hair and used it to pull Malfoy away from him and threw him hard against the wall.

"Nice night, that was." Malfoy said through a ghastly bloody grin as Ron advanced on him yet again.

Suddenly Ron slipped, skidding on Malfoy's blood on the wooden floor. Landing on his behind, suddenly Malfoy was on him, laying his fist into Ron's face repeatedly, and was rewarded by a gush of blood.

"I bet you never even copped a feel, did you _Ron_?" he cackled, then yelled in pain as Ron punched his cheek and there was a loud _crack_. "Nah - I think you knew she'd curse your hand off faster than you could stutter a counter curse!"

Ron leapt to his feet and kicked Malfoy in the stomach

"You little fucker-" he said thickly through a nose bleed.

The library door burst open, and Ron whirled around, but Malfoy leapt to his feet, taking advantage of the distraction and grabbed Ron by the neck, pulling him back on the floor.

"RON _- Draco_!"

Ron twisted around and punched Draco again, getting him in the stomach again and Draco kneed him hard in the ribs in return, and this time it was Ron howling in pain. The boys kept aiming flailing punches at each other as they were pulled apart by many hands, the room suddenly crowded, but they paid no attention.

"You fucking bastard, Weasley!" Malfoy roared as he was pulled off Ron "I'll fucking kill you! I will, I'll do it I swear!"

"No you won't you little arse!" Ron roared back, just as loud "You couldn't land a decent punch if your life depended on it! It's no wonder all you can do it _talk_ - talk and talk and talk SHITE!" Ron ran at Malfoy again, but was caught by Kingsley who restrained him with an arm around his neck

"Still don't believ-?" Malfoy began

"It doesn't matter!" Ron bellowed from Kingsley's elbow "It's all you're good at, you nasty little ferret! No wonder you're gloating about it! Posing and shagging, apparently is all you can do!"

"At least I _can_ get some!" Malfoy gasped and struggled as Lupin tried to cover his mouth so he couldn't provoke Ron further "You can't get a fucking DATE from _her_!"

At this Ron managed to break free, fists flailing. Malfoy received four more punches in rapid succession as Lupin held him down while Tonks tried to fend off Ron, while Kingsley and Mr Weasley tried to restrain Ron. Lupin had received a black eye before both boys had been secured and dragged off into separate rooms.


	2. Chapter 2

_Guys, 82 separate people have been on the page for chapter 1. Whether they clicked on and went off, or read the chapter I don't know, but c'mon - reviews, please? I never thought it made a difference, asking for reviews, but from experience apparently it does! Still, I hate to ask like some kind of cheap-ass beggar, but I'm not lying when I say each good review generates a new chapter. Honestly, I read it, get happy, and then tap away at the keyboard till my heart's content, and voila! A new chapter is born! So please review. Don't be nasty. My favourite kind is when you guys tell me in detail the parts that you like. Haha, I suppose that's being a bit overly optimistic…anyway, enjoy!_

The boys were separated and healed. However they had to endure Mrs Weasley's tirade together, and their bruises were left unhealed as a reminder. And when Harry, Hermione and Dumbledore arrived, it was to find the following scene.

Mrs Weasley was storming from one side of the room to another, pacing like an angry rhino, shouting "…can't leave you alone for a minute….Ronald, this time you've gone too far…thought I could trust you Draco…!"

Ron sat in one chair, shirtless, ribs bandaged. He had a black eye and numerous bruises on his face and torso. When Hermione saw him she gasped and ran over. For some reason, Ron recoiled from her, so wheeling around to shout at Draco, knowing it was his work, she opened her mouth but then faltered at the state he himself was in.

Draco sat leaning to one side, a stunned look on his face as his eyes followed Mrs Weasley. He too was shirtless, but with no bandages the purple and black bruises were clearer, covering his skinny frame. His Dark Mark was blatantly obvious on his arm, and it drew Hermione's eyes like a magnet although everyone else seemed too wrapped up in the moment to notice it. Madame Pomfrey had just finished siphoning the last of the blood off his face and was now starting on his hair. Malfoy had two black eyes.

"Concussed." Madame Pomfrey shouted over Mrs Weasley's lecture, in response to Hermione's questioning gaze "A broken nose, two fingers and his cheekbone too. And that one," she jerked her head in Ron's direction had a broken rib and nose."

"Harry." Ron said earnestly from his chair "Malfoy is dick. Please tell me you're not letting him get away with this."

Harry looked from Draco to Ron, his tired mind heavy with renewed grief. It had been a year since Sirius's death, but coming back to Grimmauld Place made it all feel fresh in his mind, and he wanted nothing more than to go to bed. He looked from Ron's expectant face to Draco's downcast one again, then tore his eyes away, refusing to meet Ron's gaze.

"I'm going to bed." was all he said.

"Hermione?" Ron said, his voice shaking.

Hermione turned away to follow Harry upstairs. From what Lupin had told her she had a fair idea of what Ron had found out and she didn't want to confront the issue now. Or ever, preferably.

"Harry?" she called up quietly after her friend, but he didn't answer so she followed him up to his room.

"Can I come in?" she paused at the door hopefully. Just as Harry knew her secrets, she knew what was upsetting him, and she sighed with relief when he nodded and she closed the door behind her and plopped down on the bed beside him.

"Have you heard from Pansy?" she asked quietly, laying a hand on his arm. Harry's eyes looked dull, and his face was rather too expressionless, and she knew he'd been worrying himself sick.

He looked up at Pansy's name. "She hasn't written at all." he muttered, not meeting her eyes, and Hermione took the opportunity to put her arm round him.

"She's in a dangerous place Harry, it would be silly, really to risk writing letters to you."

"I'm just so worried," he whispered , staring at the ground "I sent letters to her, what if she was caught with them."

For a moment Hermione stayed silent, trying to think of a tactful answer. All she could think though, was that Harry had taken a huge risk. She didn't want to ask if he'd used Hedwig - of course he had, he had no other way to send a letter. He shouldn't have used such a distinctive owl, but Hermione knew what it was like to be lovesick and the months on end with silence from his girlfriend must have been a nightmare for him.

"Or if, you know," he continued "if she changed her mind."

"Changed her mind?" Hermione said blankly

"About me."

"Oh Harry!" she gave him another little hug "Of course she hasn't, it's probably just to risky for her to reply to your owls. She'll be fine though, you'd have read in the paper if she wasn't."

Harry looked up abruptly, his face pained "Hermione, I don't think she's _dead,_ I think she's a Death Eater!"

"Of course she isn't Harry," she replied brusquely "she loves you, she'd never-"

"It doesn't matter how she feels about me, she'd have to choose between that and death!" Harry said, his voice sounding tortured "She's a fighter, she'd never just pin her life to a cause and die for it. She'll do whatever she can to keep alive, I know it."

Hermione bit her tongue. "Well," she said finally "then that makes her no better than Draco."

"Exactly!" Harry exploded "And I hate him! I hate him, so much for lying, for hurting you - us, for all of it!" then he deflated, shaking his head defeatedly "But in the end, he was just trying to stay alive. Like Pansy. And I'd forgive her in a heartbeat, but I can't forgive him."

"Really? You'd forgive her?" Hermione was surprised. No matter what she'd thought at times, Harry had always been so opposed to the Dark Arts, and to consider remaining in a relationship with someone who had devoted her life to Voldemort…

"I love her." Harry said quietly, sinking his forehead into his hands "And I know whatever she's had to do to keep safe, she doesn't really want to do. Even if she has been made a Death Eater, I know her heart's not in it."

"But Harry…" Hermione searched for words "Whether she wanted to or not, she's devoted herself to Voldemort - not you. If it's the case that she's joined him anyway."

She watched Harry as he picked at his thumbnail, his eyes half closed, long lashes nearly concealing the deep green eyes. "But the thing is," he said finally "I'd rather she was his than dead. And at least I know she isn't really his, not really, because she's only doing what she has to do."

"So what about Draco then?" her voice was a little abrupt, but only because the question had been eating at her for months "Do I forgive him? Do you?"

"I don't know Hermione." Harry fell back on the bed with a _humph _"I hate him for what he's done, but just like Pansy, I know he didn't want to do it."

"He thought he had to." Hermione agreed, and they locked eyes for a moment.

"I'm too angry to forgive him." Harry said at last "But I'll tolerate him. Maybe if we spend time together, it'll fix itself, but honestly I'm too worried about Pansy to worry about him. I'd rather just see how things go, start again."

"Just like strangers with a bad history."

"All over again." Harry shook his head at the irony

"So what's the plan?" Ron leaned in eagerly.

Harry took a breath and began to explain what he knew.

"I'm a Horcrux, so is Voldemort and there's six more. For the Horcruxes in me and him, we'll figure out a plan." he swallowed "but the other six, we need to eliminate, and from what Dumbledore's told me, once we've found them it's a matter of destroying them permanently."

"Obviously." Ron rolled his eyes

"Hang on," Hermione interrupted "you're on speaking terms with Dumbledore?"

"Sort of." Harry replied "he's told me what I need to know about Horcruxes in exchange for the agreement that I'll hunt them with him and a few order members with me."

"Fair enough." Ron nodded

"Not really." Harry lowered his voice, casting his eye quickly around the dusty Black library "I don't trust him. In case you forgot, he's been planning to off me from the beginning. The last thing I'm going to do is go Horcrux hunting with him. I'm just a portable Horcrux they can take with them, waiting to be destroyed at leisure. I'm going without them"

"I'm sure he wouldn't …" Hermione tailed off, then blushed, shaking her head "You're right Harry, absolutely right. You need to be with people you trust."

"Which is why I'm coming with you." Ron chipped in

"And me." Hermione said firmly

Harry grimaced, but nodded in acceptance. "I don't want to put you in danger, but to be honest, I'm glad. I'm thinking about setting out after the wedding."

"Yes, you need to stay for that." Ron said hurriedly "Fleur will be a nightmare when we get back if we don't."

"So _anyway_," Hermione interrupted "what are the plans for hunting them down?"

"Well I have ideas where they might be." Harry said slowly "But I haven't said anything about them to Dumbledore, or they'd be able to track us down, wherever we go, really easily. But we can talk about that another time. First of all, we need to use the library to find ways to destroy them permanently."

"What do you mean?" Ron said, puzzled "Can't we just, _incendio_ them or something?"

"We have to put them beyond magical repair." Harry corrected "Whatever that means. Dumbledore was being a little vague - it's probably his way of stopping me from running off and doing it alone."

"I've got it." Hermione said suddenly, then frowned "but I don't know…"

"Well? Are you going to tell us or not?" Ron urged eagerly

"Well…you tell me." she looked at them both expectantly "What can't you reverse with magic? What's the one thing-"

"Death." Harry said suddenly "The killing curse. They're alive, the pieces of soul, we have to cast _Avada Kedavra _at them."

"That won't work." A voice said, and they all jumped, but Harry scrambled to his feet almost immediately, wand in hand.

"How much did you hear?" he demanded, his wand trained on Draco as he emerged from behind a bookshelf

"All of it." Draco looked unconcerned at Harry's wand, but pale nonetheless.

"_Obliviate _him." Ron said roughly

"No!" Draco said quickly "I can help! You can't kill them that way!"

"What do you know about - about-" Hermione began

"Horcruxes?" Draco said roughly "Nothing. But I know Dark Magic, and I know the theory and what you're trying to do is dangerous. There'll be better ways."

"Like what?" Harry demanded, and Draco moved closer to him, meeting his gaze with pleading eyes

"Take me with you, and I'll tell you."

"No." Harry said flatly "Out of the question."

"I can help -"

"_No._ I don't trust you." he turned back to Ron and Hermione "Now, we need to discuss the plans more, but I think we can wait until after the weddi-"

"Please, Harry." Draco said suddenly, and everyone turned to look at him again. "Please let me go."

"Aren't you going to _obliviate _him?" Ron demanded

Harry frowned. _Since when did Draco say __'__please__'__?_ He didn't feel comfortable with Draco coming with them to find the horcruxes, or even hearing their plans. Any friendship they had shared had been ruined by his betrayal, and besides, Ron hated him. And he didn't want him anywhere near Hermione for that matter either.

"Draco I'm sorry, but-"

"Harry." Draco said desperately, aware their friendship was in tatters, and desperate to fix it "_Please_."

"I'm not going to change my mind. We were friends once, but not anymore. So far I've kept to our original deal, keeping you safe. Friendship wasn't part of the bargain and I shouldn't have let it happen. Ron and Hermione, Ginny….and me, we've all been hurt by you, and you betrayed our trust. We're keeping you safe, isn't that enough?"

"You might need me," Draco bargained "I know more about how the other side thinks,"

Draco ignored a snort from Ron "I could even - " he stopped, hesitating

"Yes?" Harry prompted

"I would spy for you, if you needed me to. I know they probably won't take me back, but if the situation arose, you could need a spy, and that person is me."

"Well then we'll come back for you," Harry said matter-of-factly "and bring you back when we're done."

"And what makes you think I'm going to let you use me like that when you won't trust me with anything else?" Draco flared up "I know I don't deserve trust, but I'm really trying here!"

"Fine, we won't use you then." Harry shrugged

"Look," Draco pleaded "I _can _help you! Casting _Avada Kedavra_, it's dangerous for you. You told me that's how Horcruxes are made, last year Harry, and I heard you say you have a part of _His _soul inside you, what if you split yours when you cast it, and His soul can take advantage of the two weaker pieces?"

Harry frowned. He hadn't thought of that.

Hermione came to his rescue "Well then I'll cast it." she said matter of factly "Or Ron."

Draco stared at the three of them in exasperation. "What if I promise to try and make friends with Ron?"

"No thanks, mate." Ron said cheerfully, buoyed by Harry's dismissal of his enemy

"If I - oh I don't know! There's nothing I can offer that will make you change your mind!" Draco stared at Harry, his jaw clenched. He turned for the door, then hesitated, turning back again. "I don't want to be left behind. I want to help Pansy. She's in trouble, I know she is!"

Harry's head jerked up almost involuntarily in response. "How do you know?" he demanded

"She's not with us." Draco said simply, before resuming his pleading "Harry please! Being your friend became important enough that I dropped the Dark Lord's task, really risking my life this time, and throwing away my family, just for your approval. I didn't _want _to be a Death Eater, but I never had. It was your friendship that was the reason I joined your side. I'm not sure I can cope without it. Please reconsider."

With that, Malfoy turned for the door again and left.

There was a moment silence until Hermione began to snuffle.

"Hermione, he'll be fine." Harry said, hoping he sounded firmer than he thought he had.

Hermione immediately burst into tears. "Harry, I just know he's serious. Haven't you seen how pale he is? He's got no one!"

"Who's fault is that?" Ron snapped "And since when are you on his side? I thought you broke up?" his voice had a threatening tone to it.

"We _did_ break up!" Hermione snapped back, wiping her eyes "It doesn't mean I can't treat him like a human being!"

"I can trust him to help rescue Pansy." Harry found himself saying

"Rescue Pansy?" Ron burst out "You never mentioned that!"

"I was about to!" Harry said hotly "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No - it's just all these Slytherins-"

"Listen," Hermione interrupted before Harry exploded at Ron "so what if you can trust him to help you with Pansy Harry? Can you trust him with everything else?"

"Whose side are you on?" Ron asked seriously, looking bewildered. Hermione ignored him

"He's heard it all anyway." Harry said unsurely " And - and well…"

"You're going to let him come with, aren't you?" Ron said heavily.

Harry didn't reply at first.

"I don't know what to do." he said at last "Ron, you don't want him, and you," he nodded at Hermione "do." she ducked her head without denial "And I - " he faltered

"What do you want?" Ron said

"I have him to thank for Pansy." Harry whispered "And we're both worried about her. And two of us trying to find her just as badly could help. And…he was right. We could use a person who could be a spy."

"But Harry, what do you _want_?" Hermione whispered

"I think it should be just us three, like the good old days." Ron said stoutly

"Shush Ron."

"I … truthfully, I want him along. Its difficult to let go of the friendship. If things could be like they were before…once I stop hating him for what he's done, I mean…"

There was silence.

"Harry…" Ron said heavily "Both of you think you can trust him. And this time…" he hesitated "I- I'm more likely to believe that he really does regret it. He can't betray as again, that's for sure. He's too far gone, it'd get him no benefit from the other side, and he'd probably be killed on sight anyway. I don't want him along. I don't like him. But if both of you really want it…"

"Thanks Ron." Hermione said quietly

"Just don't expect me to be nice to him." he said, irritably

Harry felt an inevitable smile creeping onto his tired face.

"Thanks Ron. Maybe we should tell him then."

Draco didn't think he could handle another day of lying on his bed staring at the ceiling, which was slowly moulding over, so he made his way to the room with the piano, wishing that he was somewhere else. Anywhere else. A constant cloud of grim depression hung over the entire building; it wasn't just him. It made things so much worse that he was surrounded by people he didn't like and that he was in their territory, where they felt safe and perfectly at ease when making him miserable. Mrs Weasley put a stop to what she could, but she couldn't be everywhere at once. Tonks was a ray of sunshine when she was round, but being busy with auror work, this was a seldom occurrence.

He trailed his hand over the piano keys, unwilling to play despite his initial fervour to repair the instrument. He had only ever played piano in the Manor, and whenever he thought of home he was hit by a sense of profound loss so deep that he wasn't sure he wanted to stir any memories by playing a song.

_Strange, _he thought not for the first time, _I never liked being at home before…now I can't stop longing for it. _

He knew his parents had rejected him, and they would not welcome him with open arms. He highly suspected the Manor would be in use as a rallying ground for Death Eaters, so it was likely that his home would be filled with strangers anyway. Nevertheless, anything was better than being in this cramped, dilapidated excuse for a Pureblood house. Clearly the Order of the Phoenix saw it as a large house, but Draco was used to living in rooms of palatial sizes, and ten modestly sized bedrooms seemed very small to him.

"You play piano?" said a soft voice, and Draco snatched his hands from where they had been poised over the keys and whipped around.

Hermione and Harry stood in the doorway. He, looking uncomfortable and she smiling softly.

"I used to." he replied shortly, looking at the floor. He wondered if he would ever speak to another human being without this tense, awful silence between exchanges.

"We've decided to trust you." Harry told him, and Draco looked up, surprised. Harry's eyes were hard. "Don't let us down."

_Again_. It hung unsaid in the air after Harry had spoken, and Draco's cheeks flushed with shame.

"You can rely on me this time, I promise." he said, looking Harry in the eye, who looked away quickly. He met Hermione's eye too, and she did the same. The weight in his heart grew heavier still.

"When we leave," Hermione said, still looking anywhere but Draco "we'll take you with us. But Harry wants your help with something we're going to do first. Until we leave, he wants to work on a plan for it."

"What is it?"

"I'm worried about Pansy. I was wondering if you could tell me - what sort of danger could she be in?"

"She hasn't answered any of Harry's letters." Hermione said meaningfully, and Draco understood that she thought Pansy had simply moved onto someone else, tiring of Harry now that he wasn't around to meet her needs.

The defiant expression Harry bore told Draco that he was wondering about the same thing.

"I haven't been able to write to anyone." Draco said "So I have no idea whether she's safe."

Harry's shoulders slumped.

"She lives in London," Draco continued "most of the time, anyway. Her family has a manor in Ireland, but they don't normally go there."

"London?" Harry said immediately, as Draco had known he would "We could check on her easily then!"

Draco shook his head. "More easily than if she were in Ireland, yes. But I don't know exactly where her house is."

Harry stared at him incredulously. "How can you not know where she lives? You were engaged to her for years! You didn't know your own fiance's address?"

Draco shrugged. "I only floo'd there if I had to. It's called Thornwood House. That's all I know. I avoided the place if I could. Her older brother is a creep, and her mother is about ten times worse than Pansy at _her _worst."

"You must know more." Hermione said confidently "When you looked out the windows, what did you see? Or was there a garden you could see the street from?"

Draco sat down on the piano stool slowly, facing away from the keys and towards Harry and Hermione.

"What do you see from the window in the kitchen?"

Hermione looked at him in confusion. "The window?"

"There is no window in the kitchen." Harry said flatly.

Draco stared back at them, apparently as confused as they were. "Yes, there is." he said slowly.

There was a long silence, as all three stared at each other as if the other party was mad.

"Interesting." Draco said.

"What do you mean by that?" Hermione said at once.

"We'll get to that in a moment." Draco said "What I see from the kitchen window, the existence of which is now up for debate, is an overgrown garden. Mrs Weasley told me there was no garden, so I assumed the window was enchanted. The point I was going to make, is that enchanted windows are common to magical homes, so what I saw from the windows at Pansy's house isn't necessarily going to be a help."

"I want to take a look at this 'window'." Hermione said, frowning.

"Later," Harry said impatiently "Draco, tell us what you saw anyway, it might help."

"The windows of the front room looked onto a very small front garden, with iron railings separating it from the street. I think there was a bit of grass, but it was mostly flowers." Draco wrinkled his nose "Horrible, skinking things. Mrs Parkinson is obsessed with flowers. She used to leave the window open in the summer and the front rooms always smelt like stinking perfume. Like the floral version on Professor Trelawney's room at Hogwarts."

"Well, if you could smell the flowers, that view must have been real." Hermione stated.

"Not necessarily, but it's very unlikely it was fake I suppose. Who would want a view where you could see the muggle street?"

"Even if it _is _real," Harry interrupted "there are _thousands_ of houses with front gardens like that in London."

"I'd recognise the stench a mile off." Draco said

"But we don't have the time or freedom to just let you wander through muggle London until you smell it." Hermione said "Wasn't there anything else?"

"Not that I can think of." Draco said "But, if we're really going to go looking for the house, there's a few things we should bear in mind. First off, it's a wizarding house. A pureblood house, and more specifically, the Parkinsons are…well I wouldn't say noveau rich, but they have only been wealthy for the past three generations. Likewise, their bloodline can only be traced as far as the 1920's. Mrs Parkinson always says the records were lost, but everyone knows they're hiding something. There must be a halfblood in the main Parkinson line." Draco sniggered, then seemed to remember where he was and stopped suddenly. "Ahem. Anyway, the point is, they feel the need to bolster themselves with showy displays of their history, and their money."

"So we're looking for a fancy house?" Harry simplified

Draco nodded "And, even though I can't remember anything like it, we should look for symbols involving wolves."

"Wolves? Is that part of their family coat of arms?" Hermione asked, whipping out a pen and paper.

"Yes. This house, the house of my great aunt Walpurga and her husband Cygnus Black, has snakes everywhere. They're not descended from Slytherin, but they like to infer that they are by that."

"Wait, you know everyone who's descended from Slytherin?" Harry cut in

Draco laughed "Harry, I know the family tree of everyone who can get away with calling themselves pureblood. My parents have had me memorising them since I was six."

"Okay then." Harry swallowed "Who's still alive who's related to Slytherin?"

Draco watched him speculatively for a moment before replying. "Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"Just tell me. If it turns out to be important, I'll let you know." Harry said

Draco didn't look happy, but he complied. "No one is alive, no one descended from the direct line. The Gaunts died out nearly fifty years ago. As for descendants not of the male line…there's no way of telling. I wouldn't be surprised if every pureblood was part Slytherin."

"What do you know about the Gaunts?" Harry pressed

"Tell me why." Draco folded his arms.

Harry scowled. "Look -"

"Harry, we should tell him. I thought we agreed that we would all trust Draco." Hermione prompted.

"What?"

All three of them whipped around at the new voice.

"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed.

"What were you talking about?" Ginny said, frowning.

"Nothing." Harry said immediately, and Draco rolled his eyes. _Honestly. _Harry had all the subtlety of a troll brandishing a club.

"We've decided to try to get along with Draco better." Hermione said with a tight smile. "Anyway, never mind that. We were just about to head down to the kitchen."

"Oh." Ginny said, though she was still looking at Draco suspiciously, who studiously avoided her eyes. "Well, good. Because mum sent me up to tell you lunch is ready."

…ooo000ooo…

"I don't know much about the Gaunts." Draco muttered under his breath to Harry as they ate. "They're extinct, in the male line at least, so there was no reason for me to remember anything about them. I could try to find out more - if you can cause a distraction, there's a good library in here. Only, Mrs Weasley doesn't like me looking at the books. They're all about the Dark Arts. What's so important about this anyway?"

"Marvolo Gaunt was the father to Merope and Morfin Gaunt." Harry whispered, "Merope was … she had problems. She wasn't good looking to say the least."

"How do you know this?" Draco asked, watching Harry closely

"If Merope hadn't went and done what she did," Harry continued, ignoring Draco "she probably would have ended up marrying her brother. That's the sort of pureblood they were. And they looked it too. They were dirt poor. The muggles who lived nearby thought of them as dirty tramps. They thought they were mad. Then…" Harry continued "Merope fell in love with a muggle." Draco couldn't mask the gasp of shock he let out at that.

"What are you boys talking about?" Molly Weasley said as she passed them. When both boys looked guilty, she simply beamed at them both. "Never mind. It's good to see _someone_ making an effort with Draco." She glared at Ron, who looked at his plate, only to smirk nastily at Draco as soon as his mother's back was turned. Draco smirked right back, which only made Ron turn red with anger, and Harry deduced that Draco had cheered up.

"Leave him,. he told Draco, who turned back to him, smirk fading.

"Right, so Merope Gaunt married a muggle."

"No," Harry said "she fell in love with him. Obviously, he wasn't interested. He was engaged, and he was from a rich muggle family. To cut a long story short, she fed him a love potion, rand away with him, then stopped giving him the potion, thinking he would still love him."

"Stupid. What kind of witch was she!" Draco exclaimed

"Not a very good one." Harry said "She was almost a squib."

"Excessive inbreeding." Draco shook his head

"Isn't any kind of inbreeding excessive?" Harry said incredulously, then shook his head. "Never mind, I don't want to know. Anyway, she was treated badly by her father and brother, she could have been terrorized so much that she couldn't get her magic to perform. I don't know, but in the end Riddle left her -"

"Riddle?" Draco said, frowning

"The muggle she ran away with was called Tom Riddle. He left her, and she was pregnant. She had nothing left, and for one reason or another, didn't, or couldn't use her magic to save herself. She turned up at an orphanage half dead, and gave birth to a boy, then died."

The kitchen was growing quieter, and Harry and Draco both paused as Fred and George, the main source of noise, left the room. With no loud talking to cover their conversation, they looked uncomfortably around at the remaining people in the kitchen.

"Girls?" Mrs Weasley addressed Ginny and Hermione "Please tidy the kitchen before you go upstairs."

"Aw mum!" Ginny whined "I always have to-"

"Ronald did it this morning with Harry, and Draco is always helping me with one thing or another."

Everyone's heads swung around to stare at Draco incredulously, and he stared stonily at the wall.

"Now please get on with it." Molly Weasley left the room.

"Why don't we do the dishes?" Harry said, nudging Draco. "Ginny, go on. Don't worry about the rest."

"Yeah, I'll help them." Ron added

"O-okay…" Ginny said, though her face was extremely suspicious, she wasn't going to volunteer to do housework.

The second she was out the door, Hermione whipped out her wand and cast _muffliato _on all four of them.

"Hermione!" Ron said, impressed "Mum'll kill you if she finds out!"

"She won't, unless someone snitches." Draco said, giving Ron a pointed glare.

"_Anyway_," Harry said quickly "I was just telling Draco about the Gaunts."

"Yes, why _are _you telling me all this, fascinating as it is." Draco asked impatiently.

"I don't think you should tell him anything." Ron said, pouring himself a glass of milk. He was ignored by all.

"Merope Gaunt gave birth to a boy, who she named after his father. Tom Riddle. She gave him her father's name as a middle name, Marvolo."

"So?"

"Try for an anagram!" Hermione cut in, a zealous look in her eyes that she usually only got right before a class test. "Tom Marvolo Riddle."

Draco felt silence for a long moment.

"Ramrod doll motive?"

There was a split second of silence, and then a fountain of milk erupted from Ron's nostils as the whole kitchen fell about laughing.

"Ram-rod-" Ron choked, slapping the table. Harry couldn't control his laughter either.

"Try - try again!"

Draco, twin points of colour on his cheeks, shook his head.

"Please, Draco!" Hermione giggled "Go on, it's not that hard."

Draco closed his eyes to think.

"Immortal dove lord?"

Everyone burst out laughing yet again, and he flushed a deeper pink.

"That was close, actually!" Hermione said encouragingly.

"D'you think he came up with these too, when he was thinking of a name for himself?" Harry chortled, causing a new bout of giggles.

"Devoid marmot roll, and that's the last I'm saying." Draco said sulkily.

"Here." Hermione said kindly, grabbing her notebook and pen as the last of the giggles slowly subsided. She wrote out TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE across a blank page in capital letters. She paused, then wrote underneath. I AM LORD VOLDEMORT.

Draco's eyes widened. "No."

Hermione nodded grimly, and Draco stared at the notebook in silence.

"So, you're telling me," he said finally "That the Dark Lord is a half blood."

"Yup!" Ron said cheerfully

"His name is _Tom_." Draco sneered as he said the common name.

"Yup!"

"And he used _anagrams_ to choose his name."

Ron merely guffawed.

"I can't believe my father doesn't know this." Draco shook his head, looking gob smacked.

"Actually," Hermione frowned "shouldn't he know that? I mean, your grandfather was supposedly a follower of Voldemort while he was still in school. He would have known his name, and presumably, his blood status. Why do you think he didn't tell your father?"

"The Dark Lord went to Hogwarts?" Draco said "Are you serious? Was he in Slytherin?"

"No, he was a Hufflepuff!" Ron snapped.

"Draco's grandfather was probably terrified of Voldemort." Harry reasoned "He might not have had a choice except to follow him, and why would he tell his son he was worshipping a half blood? It would make him look bad."

Draco looked offended. "I'm sure there's a better reason."

"_Right_." Ron said sarcastically.

"_Anyway_, weren't we going to take a look at this supposed window?" Hermione cut in before Draco could retaliate.

A/N: Guys, if you like this fic, parts 1 and 2, please _please _let me know. I made the mistake of looking at reviews for New Alliances 1, and some really put me down. Since they were written admittedly I have vastly changed and improved it, but to be honest the lack of recent good reviews - heck, any reviews - has me worried. New Alliances was my first ever fanfic, so I'm sure you can imagine how bad it was at first, and how high my hopes were. Now I'm a bit more thick skinned, and a better writer (I hope!) so I was sort of expecting _some _reaction, considering the number of people who have both stories on alert.

So far, people's biggest gripe has been that this story is under H/Hr pairing. It's not. gives the option to list the main characters, not the pairing, and I listed Harry, Hermione, Draco and Ron, but still only Harry and Hermione are shown. In the end, I don't see why people are so upset about it, as I read a crapload of fics daily (I'm not exaggerating, I'm a fast reader and a Harry Potter nut) and there are many many fics which display main characters in the summary, and those two main characters aren't in a relationship in the fic. Usually I have noticed if there are pairings, the author explicitly states it. I have done this in New Alliances 1, but not for 2. This is because everyone who reads 2, will need to have read 1 first or it won't make any sense, and I have no plans to change the pairings.

ALSO, NOTE TO THE ANONYMOUS REVIEWER - first mention of lupin in your fics. why wasnt he there for harry likepadfoot?

Answer - I forgot about him. Lol. Whoopsie. He isn't important to the story anyway so I suppose it doesn't matter. I think I remember Harry saying in the books somewhere that he had hoped Professor Lupin would write to him, but he had so far been disappointed. Maybe we could say that the same thing happened, only Harry cared even less, so he never really thought about it? I don't know, you can make up your own reason unless everyone is super mad about it and wants me to go back and add in some reason for his absence. If I did, I would probably have Harry be a little sad about the lack of contact, then later on have him be miffed at Lupin a bit, but eventually get over it.


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